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Berkman aggravates shoulder

Lance Berkman was removed from Tuesday night’s game against the Astros when his sore right shoulder acted up again. The Cardinals outfielder will visit with a doctor on Wednesday to have the joint examined, and could receive a shot of anti-inflammatory medicine at that time.

Berkman first felt something amiss during Sunday’s loss to the Pirates, and he sat out Monday’s home game. He returned to the lineup on Tuesday but took only two at-bats before feeling a recurrence of the discomfort when he grounded out in the fourth inning. The issue is in the area of the rotator cuff of his non-throwing shoulder.

“Honestly I thought I was going to be fine today,” Berkman said. “When I got out there in the game, I took that swing. it’s concerning to me, just because I don’t want to do something and really hurt myself. It’s like a pinch. When you go to accelerate, it’s just there. it’s like any kind of a strain. It doesn’t feel good.”

Skip Schumaker moved from second base to the outfield to take Berkman’s place, with Nick Punto coming in to play second base.

“He felt like he couldn’t take a real good swing after that second at-bat,” manager Tony La Russa said. “He said he’d hang around, and I said ‘Why? If you’re not going to swing, we may as well put the defense in right now.'”

If Berkman receives a shot on Wednesday, he would likely be out for two or three games. The Cardinals are also currently doing without Matt Holliday, who has an illness that kept him out of Tuesday’s game.

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